Saturday is Senior Day for the Ball State softball seniors, and the trio -- Kris Burdine, Britni Clark and Mandy Snyder -- hope to go out with a bang.
But in doing so, the Cardinals must face the top team in the Mid-American Conference in a three-game series over the weekend, the Central Michigan Chippewas.
The Chippewas are a perennial powerhouse in the MAC, having won 10 regular season championships and nine tournament championships. This season they were preseason favorites to come away with the another title. Coach Terri Laux said playing CMU is always a challenge.
"With that team sitting at the top of the MAC, we're going to have to bring our 'A' game," she said. "We have to go out and play solid softball."
The Chippewas have a firm grip on the West Division with a 16-2 MAC record (27-14 overall). History doesn't look kindly on the Cardinals when facing CMU, as the Chippewas lead the series 53-16. CMU's 14-game conference winning streak was snapped on Wednesday when second-place Western Michigan won the first of a two-game series, 6-1.
Central's Christin Sobeck was named this week's Player of the Week, and leads the team with a .351 batting average, 39 hits and 24 runs scored. Amber Puchalski, who took the loss against the Broncos, leads the team with a 1.75 ERA, 181 strikeouts and has a 17-7 record.
"Not one or two kids stand out; they're winning as a team," Laux said. "If someone has an off-day, they have two, three, four kids ready to step up."
The Cardinals have struggled from the beginning of the season to find consistency, especially offensively. Against East Division leader Kent State on Wednesday, the Cardinals could only manage eight hits in the doubleheader.
Ball State and Central Michigan square off today at 3:30 and again tomorrow in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. For the three seniors, this week marks the end of their softball career. After CMU, the Cardinals host Buffalo on Wednesday, then travel to Western Michigan next weekend. Jodi Willis, who has suffered back problems throughout the season, has been deemed out for the season. Laux called the seniors a talented group that brought solid contributions to the program.
"It's a group that has really grown with the program," she said. "They're going to be hard to replace."
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